Epilogue Two
CRESCENT
“I want to see it.”
That’s what I’d told them when I heard the news, and we’d pulled up on the street with time to spare.
Looking out at the old building, a million memories flooded my mind, and for a moment, it was as if I hadn’t been gone at all.
I always squinted down at the courtyard from my room, though—not from here. The view was different from the road, as I stared through the passenger side window.
“Are you sure this is a good idea?” I asked.
“They’re going to be well taken care of,” Phantom reassured me.
“What if… something bad happens to them?” I asked quietly, my fingers twisting together in my lap. I’d been sent to a prison full of feral alphas—they might have other tricks.
I looked up and met Sin’s crimson eyes in the rearview mirror. “They will be okay.”
“I don’t know,” I whispered. “The High Priest put me down in Anarchy. Doesn’t that mean they have a lot of power? You said the guards didn’t even know.”
Phantom’s hands tightened slightly on the steering wheel, but his voice stayed even. “I think whoever is in those circles has bigger things to worry about.”
“What does that mean?” I asked, turning in my seat to face them all—Sin, Karma, and Vandle were in the back seat.
There was a pause.
“Luke Anderson’s father went missing,” Sin said finally. “His body was recovered from a lake. No one knows what happened to him.”
I frowned.
“He was on a trip to their vacation cabin—him and his son. But no one knows where Luke is, either.”
“He… went missing?” I asked.
“He did.” Vandle said.
Karma leaned forward from the back seat. “Though I was told, through the grapevine, that Anarchy got a new alpha not long after.”
My lips parted as I turned to stare at him. “What?”
“I’m sure he’ll be fine,” Sin said, lightly. “Everyone gets an appeal in three years—if they last that long.”
“He’s—?” I cut off as I heard a faint noise, and the doors of the Convent opened.
I scrambled to the edge of the seat and shoved my face to the window so hard that my brand new glasses pinched my nose. I wasn’t used to them, but they were my new favourite thing (aside keys), and the lenses even got darker when the sunlight got too bright.
But—oh wow! There they were. I could see the omegas in their grey gowns trailing out.
A few sped up, hurrying toward the large bus that was waiting for them, and I smiled at the way their posture had changed—almost… excited?
I adjusted my glasses properly so I could make out more details than I would otherwise be able to see.
Jessie.
Allie.
Taylor.
Torie.
And I think that was Ash. She broke into a sprint toward the bus, and I could make out the smile on her face as she did.
She’d been there so long, never able to follow the rules enough to even have a chance at selection. I don’t know how many heats she’d suffered, but I’d always thought she was close to breaking.
I glanced down at the letter in my fist.
The one I’d read not long ago—and when I had, I’d demanded they let me come to watch.
“A social worker was sent to the Convent for a wellness check. All the omegas present will be spoken to alone and given the opportunity to leave. Thanks to the Kingsman pack’s donation, all who want the chance will be supported as they transition into society.”
They’d get a chance at a new start, just like I had.
As the bus drove away, I looked up at the huge, old building.
For a moment, it reminded me of Anarchy—the same worn grey stone. But then I realized they were not the same.
One housed saints who taught me pain was love—then cast me into a cage to be torn to pieces by monsters.
And somehow, it was those monsters who taught me what love truly meant.
The End